Urbanism
Environment
Design
Environment
Design
Oldham Beyond
- Project date
- 09.09.2004
- Type
-
- Strategy
- Visioning
- Location
- North West England
- Clients
- Oldham LSP and NWDA and Oldham Rochdale Pathfinder
- Associated team members
- Associated documents
In September 2003 URBED were commissioned by the Oldham Local Strategic Partnership and the Northwest Development Agency to develop a vision and strategy for the renaissance of the Borough of Oldham. This was a huge task and was undertaken by a consultancy team led by URBED with Comedia, King Sturge, S333 Architects, WSP, Professor Brian Robson and Professor Sir Peter Hall.
The study involved conversations with more than 2,000 people including work with schools, two workshops, a series of sector working groups, eight focus groups, presentations to area committees and the Oldham 'Thought Bubble' an inflatable room that toured the district in Autumn 2003.
This work was assembled into a vision for the district and a series of detailed masterplans including: Werneth/Freehold (see separate entry) and the town centre along with six smaller plans for sites throughout the borough.
Oldham Beyond was central to the success of the Oldham Partnership winning the Local Government Chronicle’s Partnership Award for Sustainable Communities in 2006.
The project was also part of a submission that was short-listed for the Local Government Chronicle’s Sustainable Communities Award in 2005.
Oldham Beyond was awarded for its ‘originality and innovation in regeneration’ by the Northwest Centre for Regeneration Excellence in its Exemplar Programme for 2004-2005.
The final vision for Oldham Borough in 15 years, which was developed into 10 key proposals and more than 80 detailed recommendations:
Our vision…In 15 years' time Oldham will be...
A confident place, at ease with itself and celebrating its diverse communities and landscapes – from the tight-knit terraced communities to the wild moors and valley villages to the east. A borough that is proud of its industrial past but which has reinvented its economy by making the most of the creativity and drive of its young people. The world will see the borough as a place transformed and people will be attracted to live and work in the borough by the quality of life that it offers and by its reputation for tolerance and diversity.
